The Red String of Fate
by Mikuxmew85
Summary: This is the epilogue for The Mad Dog, The Princess, and The Dragon.
1. The Red String: Reminiscing

Pain spread from his chest and into the rest of his body. Watching her smiling even when she was barely holding back tears was a common thing from her. She had never wanted to show or let on how much pain she was in. Even the days after the fight with Ragnarök and Omi, with how much she had lost, she tried to remain smiling when everyone was around her. Once she had turned her back from him, leaving through the gate huddled into herself and her head hung, he could only wonder what her face had looked like then. Did she break down? Did she finally let on how much pain she was in from everything that had happened recently? Had she let her tears flow? Knowing her, she had kept them at bay as long as she was able and only let out what couldn't be held back any longer.

"You can come out now." His voice was low, and his gaze remained on the gate.

Footsteps from behind shuffled up closer to him. Kazuma's gaze remained on the gate that Olivia had gone through. Had she made it on the plane okay? Had she found her seat okay? Was it comfortable enough for her? Chairman Sera had made sure to set her up on a nice VIP section on the first class section of the plane, wanting to make sure that she was as comfortable as she could possible be for the 13 hour fight it would take to get back to America. The footsteps shuffled until they were almost next to him and stopped.

"Explain." Kazuma's deep voice took a razor sharp edge to it.

"There ain't anythin' ta explain, Kiryu-chan." His voice sounded hollow and deflated.

_Like hell there isn't._

Kazuma turned around. Majima-san had his hands in his pockets and was staring at the gate. During the time they'd known each other, she had seen him reflect many different emotions. Joy and the desire to embarrass all those he talked to being the most prevalent, he had seen anger and sadness in his friend's eye before. Now was something that made him look shattered and completely lost. Something he had never seen before, something he wasn't sure his friend even had the capability of feeling much less displaying so openly. The elite yakuza were able to hide their emotions rather well, but Majima-san wasn't even trying.

"You could have at least said goodbye to her."

"Naw, I couldn't."

Kazuma turned to look at him, the furrow between his brows deepening.

"Then why? You saw how devastated she looked, thinking you didn't come to see her off. Even as she was going through the gate she turned back and looked for you."

Majima-san never looked at him and kept his gaze glued on the door that Olivia had gone through. Without saying anything on the matter, or even acknowledging that Kazuma had talked to him, he turned and headed for the door leaving the airport.

"Don't follow me Kiryu-chan. I ain't in the mood right now."

As he walked away, he took a cigarette and put it between his lips and lit it before replacing it in his pocket and shoving his hand in there too.

"Sir, you can't smoke—"

"Shut up."

Kazuma didn't follow Majima-san. With all the rage bubbling in him, The Dragon wasn't sure what he would end up doing in that moment. Once he cooled down, then he'd go and look for him. If there was a good reason that he didn't talk to Olivia and see her off, then even though he wouldn't like it, he would accept it. Considering Majima-san's history with love in general, Kazuma wasn't betting on a normal and logical reason. He wasn't sure that his friend even knew what that was. Sighing, he looked at the gate his friend had disappeared through once more before leaving the airport himself.

It had been two days since Olivia left Japan. Time was supposed to heal all wounds, but it seemed like her departure had left more of a mark and a deeper wound than he had originally thought. Kazuma knew that two days wasn't going to heal everything and make all the memories that they shared together disappear, but he thought it would at least get on the track to recovery.

_No. No it hasn't._

Each morning he would do the same thing. He'd scan around his room and get up, glancing at each room hoping by some miracle that she had come back to Japan and found him in Kamurocho and entered in the middle of the night. Olivia knew where the spare key was at. Before she had left, he had thought about changing the place where it was since she would always end up grumbling about getting soil on her hands whenever she obtained it. Now though, on the slim to none chance that she returned to Japan and came to find him, he wanted to make sure that the key was in the same spot so she could come in if she had arrived when he was out.

This morning was no different. This morning, he got the same result. Each room was bare of any trace of her. Kazuma had heard of a woman taking in and coming over a house or apartment, leaving their things everywhere. He had wondered how the significant other or friend could stand having a woman's things just laying about in places that made sense only to her—organized chaos. With her duffel bag and all her possessions that she had left in his apartment gone, it only looked depressing. Before Olivia coming into his life, he was completely content on having his apartment and his private life remain the same as it always had. She had made a far bigger impact on his life than he even realized.

_That's what happens when you lose one of your best friends I guess._

Just like every other morning, he grabbed a bottled coffee from the fridge and headed back to his room to sit down on the edge of his bed. About a quarter of the way through the coffee, he would open up his desk drawer and look at the three pieces he had of her, just as he would every other morning. Normally he smoked out on the balcony, but right now, he didn't care. He lit up a cigarette and let it hang between his lips. Pictures said 1,000 words, but these said more. One of them was one she had taken with the three of them together during Christmas. Even though Majima-san nor him were really smiling in the picture, it was clear that they didn't mind. The knowledge that they had given her the happiest Christmas she'd had in a long time would be something that he would cherish and take pride in forever.

The second was probably his favorite though. It was back in Sotenbori when her, Majima-san, and him had gone out for the first time. While she was playing the crane game in Club Sega, he had been entrusted with her camera. Intently focused on getting her prize, her head was almost pressed against the glass. Before he had even realized what he was doing, he had taken a picture. When it developed and he saw the smile on her face and her determination to get whatever prize she was aiming at, and again, before he even realized what he was doing, it was shoved in his pocket.

Almost the very instant he walked back into his apartment, it was placed in his desk drawer where it stayed so he could look at it and remember his friend whenever he wanted to. Part of him knew it would come to this; she would return to America and never returned, but he was hoping he was wrong. He sat the pictures next to him on the bed and grabbed onto the prize that she had gotten from the crane machine in Sotenbori. His fingers turned it over and over, looking at every detail the little woo toy had. Especially the small furrow between his brows.

"_U-Um. How is—"_

"_He wants ta know how that reminds ya of him!"_

"_Oh! See, he look mad. Like you do."_

Just as he did when she first gave it to him, he touched the spot between his brows and rubbed it. Hopefully within time, it would disappear at least a little bit. With all the times lately that his face remained the same, he could only assume it would deepen. Kazuma jolted when something dropped onto the leg of his pants. Ash that had fallen from his cigarette fell from the fabric of his pants and onto the floor. He took the cigarette and looked at how much had burned before snubbing it out and brushing off his pant leg. Carefully, he put each memory back in his desk drawer and closed it. Kazuma sighed and headed to the bathroom, scratching the back of his head.

_At least they can stay there so I can look at them any time I want._

Each day, after he would reminisce at his apartment, he would head to Sotenbori to assist in the repair projects the best that he was able. Due to him not having a license or understanding the more intricate parts of repair for the bridges, buildings, and streets he would end up carrying heavier things from one site to another. Kind of like a glorified errand boy. Truthfully though, he didn't mind. It was something to do to pass the time and he was indebted to Sotenbori for all the protection that it had given them from Ragnarök and Omi. Oda, Nishiki, Kashiwagi-san, and Kazama-san on some days all came to assist the best that they were able. One of the only people that he hadn't seen was Majima-san. Kazuma believed that he would be there every day to help. It would be one of the closest places to Olivia that he'd be able to be. There might be the issue. He might be trying to erase her from every part of his life that he possibly could. Or it could just be that he was lazy. Kazuma couldn't get a read on him.

"Thank you, Kiryu-san." One of the workers said when he put the sheets of metal on his workstation.

_I'm cooled enough to not want to strangle Majima-san the first time I see him. I should probably at least try to find him if I can. No telling what he's gotten himself into. Olivia wouldn't want him dead._

Kazuma thought of all the places that hadn't been damaged or had recently reopened. While he couldn't get a read of any of his friends emotions for a long period of time, his whereabouts when he was depressed were no mystery. Utahime Karaoke Bar. During the renovations, separate rooms were created to add privacy to those who came to sing. When he asked for Goro Majima, he was directed to room 4. He sighed as soon as he came up to the door, rubbing a hand down his face. He couldn't go in there. Not now. Though the rooms were soundproof mostly, he knew the beat of the song:

_Shiawase nara ii ya  
As Long As You're Happy_


	2. The Red String: Shiawase nara ii ya

_If I could shape the world  
In any way I wanted  
And if I could craft myself a harem paradise  
I'd let it all go, because you'd be unhappy_

_And if I wind up on a rice cracker-like bed  
Resting on a pillow hard as a tombstone  
in a musty den out in the sticks,  
It's okay, as long as I know you've found happiness_

_No matter how cruel and merciless  
the hell I'm thrust into is,  
it'll be a thousand times better than seeing you sad!_

_If you're happy, then so am I; I don't mind!  
There may be sadness, and some may hate me; but bring it!_

_If you're happy, if you're happy, it's alright!  
So, hey, wipe off those tears_

_If you're happy, so am I; it's really okay!  
Your being sad is such a waste of your rare beauty!_

_If you're happy, if you're happy, I really don't mind!  
With my everything, I'll pray and pray for you_

_I love you, I love you  
I won't even say, "Please don't forget me"_

_I love you, I love you  
All I want is for you to be happy into tomorrow_

_I'll die for you  
And I won't be afraid of anythin'  
But if you're lonely, I'll come back  
No… I'll come back a hundred times over!_

_If you're living, then I am too; I don't mind!  
Your joy, your smile, come to me!_

_If you're living, if you're living,  
If you're living, it's okay!  
One more time let's go back to that house_

_If you're living, then I am too; I don't mind!  
You don't need makeup or anything; you're beautiful!_

_If you're living, if you're living,  
I really don't mind!  
I'll fight again and again for you_

_I love you, I love you  
I don't need money, pride, or anything of the sort_

_I love you, I love you  
All I want is for you to laugh and live into tomorrow_

_If you're happy, then so am I; I don't mind!  
There may be sadness, and some may hate me, but bring it!_

_If you're happy, if you're happy, it's alright!  
So, hey, wipe off those tears_

_If you're happy, so am I; it's really okay!  
Your being sad is such a waste of your rare beauty!_

_If you're happy, if you're happy, I really don't mind!  
With my everything, I'll pray and pray for you_

_If you're happy… If-If you're happy  
I really don't mind! It's okay!_

_A President? A CEO? Some big shot?  
What are you even supposed to do with that?  
Anyway, what do you do?  
What do you say to who?  
What are you supposed to do in this world?  
Have conviction? Is that it?  
You should be happy  
To live with happiness, with laughter, with a smile;  
That much is okay  
That much—that much is okay  
That's my… yeah, that's my happiness_

_I love you, I love you  
"Don't forget me—please don't forget me!"  
…Are words I really want to say  
But, it doesn't really matter  
If you forget me, I won't mind  
Because tomorrow you'll smile  
Always, always and forever,  
You'll be living, and smiling_

_I love you, I love you  
I won't even say, "Please don't forget me"_

_I love you, I love you  
All I want is for you to be happy into tomorrow_

_For you to be happy, forever and ever_

Goro put down the microphone on the nearby table.  
"Stupid song." He muttered, sniffling and wiping his eye. "Hate that damn song…"

_Then why'd ya sing it, idiot?_

He cleared his throat, sniffling again. When he had walked into Utahime Karaoke Bar, he had told himself that he wasn't going to sing that song. Over. And. Over. And what had he done? Do the exact thing he told himself that he wasn't going to do. Goro walked over to the table in the middle where his snacks and drink were at and plopped down on the couch. His allotted time was running short. Sighing again, he took his glass of alcohol and slammed it back, placing it with the others that were empty on the table. Despite him trying to command his brain to forget it, it was forcing him to remember the places in his song where he had almost stopped and other places where he had almost broke down.

"Wonder what other songs they got? Think I got enough for one more." He continued to mutter to himself as he leaned over and grabbed the binder, flipping it open and scanning the names. "_Ooh_! They have… nothin' else I like."

The phone rang and Goro pressed himself off the couch and answered it.  
"Sir, your—"

"Yeah, I know. I'll be down in a minute." He hung up the phone and grabbed the microphone and headed to the door.

"_I said I like ta sing karaoke."_

"_Huh?! You?!"_

"_Ya, it ain't that surprisin' is it?"_

"_It is! We go sometime?"_

"_Geez, I'll take ya ta karaoke too sometime, just stop smilin' about it."_

Grunting from aggravation, he opened the door to his room and slammed it shut, heading back to the front and then turned in the mic. Not even caring about the people at the front desk, he waved his hand dismissively when they wished him have a good day. Goro was sure that he wasn't going to have a good day for the rest of his life. Perhaps even in the afterlife he would have a shitty time. That sounded about right. Sounded _exactly _the kind of shit that'd be waiting for him. There was always the off chance that _she _would be waiting for him in the afterlife, a long, _long _time after he went. So, wouldn't it be that he was waiting for her? He didn't have that right though. If they did meet in the afterlife, it would be her with her family. But… that's okay. It really is. As long as he could see her smile again, then it would be okay. He could watch from afar and just be thankful that she had found some happiness. Somewhere. With someone.

Goro huffed a laugh and wiped at his cheek again before clearing his throat. It would be okay. Really. If he just kept telling himself that, that even if they never saw each other again, just knowing that she was happy and would obtain that sometime in her life with someone else. He could feel happy knowing she was okay; knowing that she was smiling. But… to know that she would be showing someone else that beautiful smile that reached her just as beautiful eyes, and that just as amazing laugh to another man… it hurt. If she was happy though… he could deal with that hurt. That man would be lucky, and he better not take her for granted. That smile. That laugh. Those eyes. Those lips. Those thighs. Her heart. The compassion. The happiness. All of it.

"_Listen to me. You better keep… her happy. Understand…? If you don't… I'm going to come back… and haunt your ass. All the time. For good."_

"Seems like I ain't gonna get any peace in the afterlife either. Hopefully ya understand that I did this ta make sure she _is _happy, Ethan. Yer watchin' her. I know ya are. Ya can tell." Goro muttered.

He turned away from Utahime Karaoke Bar, stopping on the road when he heard his stomach grumbling. Goro groaned in frustration and then furrowed his brows when he pat at his pants and sighed when he realized he left his cigarettes at home. That could be good in a way, he could grab some food and then head home. Just… spend the rest of the day there. Positive, he did end up getting a TV the day that she left. So, there was something that he could do there. Even if there wasn't, he'd find _something _to do. Mostly, if he was being truthful, he only ended up getting the TV so that he could turn it on and have some background noise. Only to himself would he admit that he pretended that the noise was… was her talking. It was a blessing and a curse. He'd leave it all the time when he was there, so when he woke up for just a few seconds he would think that she was there again. It made him feel less alone though. Sometimes. Only when he really focused on it.

"Kiryu-chan, didn't I tell ya not ta follow me? Told ya I wasn't in the mood." Goro said once he had gotten a fair distance from Utahime.

"I need to talk to you, Majima-san."

"Do yer ears need checkin', Kiryu-chan? Pretty sure I just said I ain't in the mood ta do any sorta talkin'." His voice was getting sharper, but still retaining the high singsong pitch as usual.

"I didn't ask for your permission, Majima-san."

"…"

"I've been trying to just accept it and just consider it as being you, but I can't."

"What are ya talkin' 'bout, Kiryu-chan?" Goro sighed, his voice hollow.

"You know that if she had seen you, then she would've stayed." His tone was accusatory.

"…I know." Goro muttered. "That's why I didn't let her see me."

"What? You mean you wanted her to leave?"

Goro shook his head and chuckled slightly.  
"…Not in the slightest. But she had ta."

"What are you talking about?"

Goro finally turned around,  
"Ya ever heard the sayin' 'if ya love somethin' let 'em go, Kiryu-chan?"

"…"

"She wouldn't've been happy here in Japan. Her family's all in America. It's cause of people like us that she lost a lot. Someone as bright as her needs ta be in the sun. She doesn't need ta be in the shadows like you and me. Ya know that. Her mom wouldn't approve anyway. Ya forget what that guy that was supposed ta be her dad was? He was like that all through her life. Ya think that her mom would end up givin' approval for her daughter ta be with someone that's in the shadows? That's the exact thing she wanted ta avoid when she kicked that guy out." Goro said and scoffed.

"… Her mom knows the yakuza is different."

"Does she? Even if she does, does it matter? We're still in the shadows, Kiryu-chan. When she was tortured, they wanted ta know about us. Bein' here would make her a target. Bein' with _me _would make her a target. Ya think I could deal with that if someone used her ta get ta me? I'd rather 'em just kill me instead than use her."

"So, you're telling me you did this for her? That it's all for her?"

"'course." Goro scoffed and raised his brows at his friend. "Ya know better than that."

"…"

"She'll be fine. Her bein' with me was just a passin' thing for her. Like I told her, danger can make ya feel somethin' than what ya feel."

This time it was Kiryu-chan's turn to huff out a bitter laugh. Goro raised his brows when Kiryu-chan furrowed his.  
"You think that's how she felt? Just something passing in the moment?"

"I… I'm sure that's what it was." Goro scoffed and looked down at his shoes, sighing.

"And if it wasn't?"

Goro shook his head and looked back up at his friend.  
"No woman wants a mad dog, Kiryu-chan."

"…"

"If this is all ya wanted—"

Goro's back landed against a wall and he blinked his eye, gripping onto his jaw and moving it around to make sure that it was still functioning properly. Many times, he had been on the receiving end of Kiryu-chan's punches, but he managed a look at his friend, he noticed that while their fights had been all in good fun before, not it was different. He stood up and huffed a laugh again.

"I ain't really in the mood ta—"

"Do you know how she acted when we thought you died? You know what she said?"

_How the hell am I s'posed ta know that, Kiryu-chan?_

"When that gunshot sounded, I had to cover her mouth because she screamed so loud. I had no idea someone could feel someone else's pain that deep, but she screamed. Wailed. Cried. Sobbed. So many tears came from someone so small I wasn't sure they were going to stop. Her heart was broken. Shattered even." Kiryu-chan cleared his throat and looked down, clearly remembering the moment. "When we got to the safehouse, she told me how much she hated me for not going back and getting you. She told me 'I would rather be slowed and take longer to be brought to safety than lose one of us for a quicker escape'. It was in English, but I managed to understand somehow."

"_I'd rather be slowed down and have all of us than make a quick escape and lose one."_

Goro's brows furrowed, recalling what Kiryu-chan had told her when she had said that she wanted to be left behind. Had she really said that? She wanted to put both herself and Kiryu-chan in danger just to bring him with?

_No woman wants a mad dog._

"I told her it's what you wanted. You know what she said?"

"…"

"She said 'what about what _I _want? Why is everyone making decisions for me?'"

Was it possible that… she _did _want a mad dog? He had told her before that she was free to leave whenever she wanted and that he wouldn't stop her. But… she didn't leave. Goro had assumed that it was because of all the danger. That she was attracted to him for being a dangerous yakuza who had saved her. Did she… _really _love him? She had told him that she did.

"_I love for here. To me, you are perfect."_

Did she… really mean that? Was there a chance that this woman _did _want a mad dog? Not just any mad dog—not that there were very many—but want _him_? If she did, what did that mean?

"Figure out to fix this, Majima-san."

Goro had returned to his apartment with no issues. His mind kept wandering to various parts of his relationship with her. She had always been there for him whenever he needed her. There had been times when she reached him when no one else could. He knew how he felt about her, but he was still having a hard time believing that she would really love him. What had he done to deserve such a pure love that she could give? Nothing about him was pure, but she… did she still really and _truly _want him? It was no secret that she was beautiful enough to have more than one admirer—Kiryu-chan and Ethan—to name two other than himself, but… to choose _him _out of everyone? Why? There was nothing redeemable about him.

He kicked off his shoes and sighed, running a hand down his face. Kiryu-chan was probably just saying things like that to make him feel differently. Whatever he felt didn't matter. There was no way that he could do anything without her family's approval. It wasn't due to tradition or not. Most of the time he hated traditions anyway, but it mattered to him. Her family meant everything to her and if he couldn't make her happy in their eyes, then… he probably couldn't. With someone that had a kill count through the roof and someone who's nickname had the words 'mad dog' in it, if the situation were reversed, he wasn't sure he'd want his daughter with someone like that.

"_Goro. Hey, it's Olivia. I uh… I haven't been hearing from you in many weeks. I just want to be making sure that everything is alright. I'll be go back to America tomorrow. My flight leaves at 17:30. I hope I see you before I leave. I love you."_

He sighed and let the machine stop. When she called, he wanted so desperately to answer the phone, but he just let the message be recorded. Goro had no intention to stop her from going back to America. It's where her family was at, her home, it was far away from everything that had happened here. It was for the better, even if she hadn't noticed it. Yet, it was one of the only things he had left of her. So he kept the message. And listened to it. Just to hear her voice. There was no amount of time that could make him forget what it sounded like, but just hearing it was enough to make a small smile appear on his face, even if the message was the prelude to a goodbye. Goro grunted when his stomach growled.

_I forget to get the fuckin' food._

"Majima-san. Back again, I see." Nakamura-san said.

"…"

"How's Harper-chan?"

_I honestly have no fuckin' clue. But… she's smart. I'm sure she's fine. Naw, I know she is._

"Fine. Happy."

"That's good." Nakamura-san said and handed him a bag. "Have a good day."

"Yeah. Sure. You too."

He took the food to the same place he always did. The park. The same one. Goro sighed and sat down on the bench, unpacking the food; Absolutely Tasty! Takoyaki, sour cream fries, and oolong tea. He hated oolong tea. Wasn't too much of a fan of sour cream fries, but… she liked it. He sniffled, already feeling that familiar burning behind his eye again.

"Must be hungry…" He stabbed one of the takoyaki balls and stared at it. There were so many memories and feelings behind these stupid octopus balls that it was hard to eat them anymore. He looked it over and was about to pop it in his mouth when he heard a voice.

"Goro Majima."

He turned towards the voice and stopped immediately; Makoto Makimura was standing at the bench.

_Oh, come on. I can't deal with this right now. Ya women are gonna give me a damn ulcer or somethin' else that might end up killin' me quicker than a gun._

"…" He cleared his throat and looked away. If he spoke, she'd know it was him for sure.

_I already turned my head at my name. But… that don't mean that she knows it's me for sure. She couldn't have seen too much of my face, right? Well, she was blind, so she may not know it was me, but I ain't gonna take that chance. I'm already dealin' with enough as it is._

"Majima-san. There isn't a need to hide. I know it's you."

"…" _Dammit…_

"Can I sit? I need to talk to you for a moment."

Still looking away from her, he pulled the containers closer to him hearing her sit down next to him. There was silence between them for a while. The only sounds were the repairs that Sotenbori was going through.

"Takoyaki?" Makoto spoke. He could hear the smile in her voice. This looked weird. Makoto and him liked to eat takoyaki together and now here he was two years ago eating some takoyaki in a park.

…_How the hell am I s'posed ta explain this? No. I don't need to explain myself. I'm a grown ass man that can eat some takoyaki in a park if I wanna. I ain't doin' nothin' wrong._

"Olivia's favorite."

…_Wait. What?_

Goro finally turned and looked fully at Makoto who was smiling brightly at him. She looked the same as she had two years ago except the frown that he was used to seeing was replaced with a smile and a calmed look in her eyes.

"…"

"That's Olivia's favorite order, isn't it?"

"I don't know anyone by that name." He muttered, stabbing at the takoyaki with the pick again. "How'd ya know it was me anyway?"

"Olivia told me. She's been coming to my parlor—the same one as before—once we reopened after the attack on Sotenbori. She said that you were tall, had a tattoo, an eyepatch, and a terrible fashion sense."

"Why's she always gotta pick on my outfit?" Goro muttered, pouting slightly.

"I wanted to see you again."

"…"

"To thank you. For everything that you did back then."

"Mm. Yer welcome."

_Well… This is awkward._

A fair number of minutes passed between them and he wondered how rude it would be if he just got up and left. Makoto could eat the food there and drink the tea. But… he didn't know if she liked all of that.  
"You know what one of Olivia's favorite things to talk about was?"

"No, I ain't got a clue."

"The red string of fate." Makoto smiled at him.

"The… what?"

"You don't know what the red string of fate is?" Makoto's shocked voice made him look down.

"I've heard somethin' 'bout it, but I ain't too sure what it is." He admitted.

"Olivia was right. You are oblivious." She sighed.

_Well! That ain't very nice…_

"The red string of fate is believed to connect to people together. The string may be long or short, sometimes it can get tangled, but… there's only one person at each end of the string. The person can't be replaced by any means. The person at each end of the string is supposed to be together. Forever."

"T-That right? Strange little fairy tale ya women like."

"Olivia loves the red string of fate. One of the favorite combinations of things to talk about was you and the red string?"

Goro sat up slightly.  
"Haw…?"

"Mm. She can be a romantic at times. Cute for someone so young."

"…"

"When Olivia found out who I was, and knowing what happened two years ago, she felt awkward. But I told her the same thing I'm going to tell you. It was also one of the reasons that I wanted to find you. Our strings got tangled together, knotted in some places and were pulled together. But… when they untangled, more string was revealed, and they went different directions."

_That's a really complicated explanation ya got there, Makoto._

"While our strings got tangled and pulled, I value our time together and cherish it. You even got my watch fixed for me. But we just pulled each other towards the opposite end. And we don't meet there. I'm not at the end of yours, and you're not at the end of mine. I'm happy. You pulled me to the end of my string. There's a man, you talked to him the last time I saw you. The man that used to be my doctor."

_Oh yeah, I remember that._

"I know who's at the end of yours."

"Ya do? Care ta enlighten me?" Goro raised a brow.

"Olivia Harper." Makoto's words made him go rigid.

_Her? You think that she's at the end of my 'red string'? I… I ain't really thought about that ever—well I didn't know what this 'red string' was anyway. But, ta think that she would be at the other end is—_

"She thinks you're at the end of hers."

"That right?" Goro asked, his eyes remaining on his takoyaki.

_She… thinks I'm at the end of hers?_

"Mhm. She told me." Makoto smiled, looking at his face.

_She… _told _you that?_

"I can tell you that finding the person on the opposite end is rare, but the string can dig into each person's finger; hurting them."

"Figures."

"When one or the other, or _both _try to to pull away from each other, it tightens trying to keep them together and hurts them."

_What're ya tryin' ta say? That we're at the opposite end and we're _both _hurtin'? Nah, I let her leave so that she could be happy. It ain't gonna hurt ta be happy. Ya've got me all confused._

"I can tell that you two are on each other's string; at the opposite end. Don't let that go." Makoto stood up and bowed to him. "Thank you so much for everything you've done for me, Majima-san. I'm happy."

Goro watched Makoto walk away and a small smile came to his face. It had hurt. _Really _hurt when he walked out of her life in order to keep her happy, but she was right. Over time the wound still stung but had healed. Had she been on the opposite side of his so called 'red string of fate', being that far apart would've been painful forever like Makoto had said. But she was smiling when she came to sit down. This time when she grew further in the distance, Goro didn't feel any pain, but he felt relief. To know that he had done something right and had made her happy was a relieving feeling. That meant that all the time that he had spent hurting was rewarded. She had found someone she really belonged with, and him…? Did she really want The Mad Dog of Shimano?

Goro leaned over and reached in his pocket and pulled out the good luck charm that he always carried with him almost since the instant he got it. It was battered, bent, and off color from everything it had been through, but… the front remained the same. It was a photo of her. To be exact, it was a photo of her smiling in his apartment. That first time she had been there, and he had been allowed to take a picture of her and keep it as a deal. He had made her smile and laugh and had to pull her hands down in order to snap the photo. Ever since he laid eyes on the photo; of her laugh and her smile, he knew things wouldn't be the same anymore. His reaction had shocked even him. He just had sat there and looked at it. Everything about the photo had been perfect, and before he knew it, he had placed the photo in his pocket where it remained through everything, only taken out when he wanted to look at it.

"_So, you have a good luck charm?"_

"_It's not working."_

"_Ah, no. It is."_

"_You're sure?"_

"_100% positive. Don't worry about me, Kitten. My good luck charm keeps me here."_

"_But not safe?"_

"_It ain't supposed ta do that. Not it's job."_

He could tell her that until the day that he died, but she still always thought it was her job to keep him—any of her friends safe. The good luck charm had kept him here. During his torture in Little Asia, even if he hadn't been able to take the photo out and look at it, when he closed his eyes, he could see it. That charm was what kept him going all that time. And just like he had thought, he'd gotten to see her again. She kept him here. Not safe. But as he said, that wasn't her job.

Goro took his finger and flicked the photo, a smile on his face.  
"I knew ya'd end up bein' a pain in my ass…"


	3. The Red String: Ends

Olivia chewed at her lip, flipping to the back of her Japanese learning book to check her answers. She sighed and turned back, marking the ones that were wrong and the explanation that was given. It was frustrating when you put your all into something just to be told you were wrong. She shook her head and pushed away those thoughts. From all the books that Kazuma had gotten her for Christmas, her reading level had increased significantly. When she first started, she knew only a few characters, but now she was able to read some kanji and easier sentences with relative ease. Despite the few setbacks from having issues and no one to really consult when she got extremely stuck, she was rather proud of her progress. In comparison to her friends, the letters that she sent out were rather bulky and childish, but she still loved hearing from them either way. The last letters that she had received, everyone had complimented her on her improved writing, so that had been a major boost.

The first time that Olivia had called when she returned to America, her friends had all been excited to hear from her and to know that she had gotten back with no issues. That first time, she had gotten all her family to say hello as well and they all had a small conversation. Olivia had asked if Goro was around so that she could talk to him, but he hadn't been around. Each month that passed, she would call them and get a full update on everything that's happened. Every call, she would ask if she could talk to Goro. And each time, he wasn't around. Olivia hadn't known what she expected. He hadn't come to see her off at the airport, so he obviously didn't want to have anything to do with her anymore. In their time together in Japan, Olivia wanted to think that he had loved her too. At times, she was sure that he was saying it with certain gestures and awkward movements. During the battle with Ragnarök and Omi, he had said 'the woman I love'. Before though, he had told her that danger makes you feel things that you normally wouldn't. It was meant to apply to her, but… obviously it applied to him.

While her calls were just as frequent to her friends, the frequency of which she asked about Goro and if she could talk to him decreased. Over the year and a half that had passed since she left Japan, Olivia had only started asking about him on holidays. It had gotten to the point where she didn't even ask to talk to him, but just to know if he's okay. Each time, just like normal, she'd get some vague or wishy-washy answer. At first, she had been angry that he hadn't talked to her or anything, but then her anger wavered into sadness, then to hurt, and then just to acceptance. Love was a hard thing to reciprocate and if he just felt those things because of the war and danger, then she couldn't blame him. Olivia couldn't make him feel something that he didn't feel, force him to have certain emotions that he didn't. That wouldn't be fair to him, and she couldn't do that to him. She loved him too much.

Looking at her book, she realized that she had been reading the same sentence over and over. That was a surefire sign that her lesson was up for the day. Olivia closed her book and sat it on the floor by her nightstand where the rest of her books lay. Scanning the room, a small smile—bittersweet in nature—came to her face. The first two months that she had been back, all her memories had been shoved in the closet other than her father and Ethan's ashes, and Ethan's gun. Those had been on display in the living room. It was hard to look at them, but they didn't deserve to be shoved in a closet. Both men were heroes and should've been treated as such. Olivia had wanted to give his grandparents the real ashes, but just to find out that he had been alive and had died again might kill them both, so she decided against it. Her mother had a hard time looking at her father's ashes, and even more so after she had read the letter that he wanted her to deliver. It was a love letter that he had written her in high school, but never found the perfect chance to give her. While Olivia wouldn't say that they had gotten _over _it, now it was a lot easier and they were able to focus on the good times more than the bad and the loss.

The same thought had driven and ultimately conquered the fear of displaying her memories. The Bun-chan series, all the other crane prizes, the photo albums, the presents she had gotten in the hospital, and the takoyaki had all been taken out and displayed. When she had plugged in her maker that first time and made some for her family after asking the girls at Club Sunshine for the best way to make takoyaki, she had cried when she ate the first ball. The tears had only increased with each bit she put in her mouth to where she was having to breathe through her mouth while she ate because she couldn't through her nose anymore. Her family pretended not to notice or worry, but she knew they did both. Olivia couldn't tell them how thankful she was that they hadn't brought it up during those extremely difficult times. She wasn't sure how she would've reacted, even now.

When she arrived back in America, her family had been so excited to have her back home, but they noticed instantly that there was something wrong when she came back with the gun and the ashes. That was the worst time, having to explain everything that happened with Ragnarök and Omi. It felt like years that they had cried. For a couple weeks, she had been so angry at her mother and her grandparents for not telling her father was Merc and had talked to them next to zero. Even though her father had told her not to be mad at her, she couldn't help it for those few weeks. Had she known that Merc was her father, they would've had a better life. She wouldn't have felt unwanted and unloved by her father. When her mother had sat her down and explained that she loved Merc but didn't want Olivia to think different of either of them and to hate them for keeping it from her, she understood. At the time, she was still so young, so she was sure that she would've seen them different—even if not forever. It was still hard to take in each time she saw his urn and thought of all the times that they could've had. Olivia settled for the times that they _did _have together and kept the assurance that her father did love her, even when she didn't know. Through her whole life, he had always considered her his daughter kept her going as well.

With each day that passed, she wondered if she was doing enough to make him and Ethan proud of her. Both of them had given their lives for something related to her, that she had felt bad and to blame for months after her return. Olivia had even apologized profusely to Ethan's urn during the night at times, feeling like his sacrifice was in vain for not being good enough to keep Goro with her and be enough to be loved. Even though he wasn't physically with her, Olivia hoped that Ethan didn't hate her or Goro.

_I'm thinking too much again…_

Grunting, Olivia got off her bed and turned on her TV on the way out. Watching TV was the best way to get her mind off these harsh and depressing thoughts. Even though her shows of choice carried a lot of death and war, she still was able to learn a lot and liked the mystery of some cop shows. War and death in real life was a lot more difficult and harder to take in, she knew that now more than ever, but she still liked to watch the same shows. Perhaps that was a blessing that she was still the same person that she was even before everything happened. Then again, she was also the same person she was before everything that happened. An American civilian that had no friends—or at least none that were in any way close by. Figures. The best friends that she made, and they had to live in Japan. Just her luck.

_At least they still think of me and remember me. And they're always excited to get anything from me—calls, packages, or letters… I miss you guys so much. I hope that everything you do every day is so much fun and amazing you have such a good time. I know that isn't realistic, but you guys deserve it. Just… the one thing that I ask is that no matter how much time passes, you don't forget me. Okay?_

Olivia had wanted to ask that of them the last time she called. They had shared so many times and laughs together, she knew deep within that her friends wouldn't forget her, but she just wanted to hear it too. But she couldn't bring herself to say the words. It would end up bringing them down and making them depressed. All she wanted to do was see them smile forever because they were all amazing people and deserved it. From what Kazuma had told her, Nishiki and Reina were getting really serious. When she talked to them, both Nishiki and Reina had been awkward about it, but they had both thanked her for getting them together, even if the way was rather unconventional. It was no problem. Everything that happened to her in Japan was like that. Why not take advantage of it and make her friends happy?

"Oh! Olivia, you're done with your lesson?" Her mother asked when she rounded the corner.

"Mm. I got a few things wrong this time, I'm getting a little worried that I'm getting worse."

"No. You're getting more advanced so it's getting harder."

"Thanks Mom." Olivia smiled and stretched, feeling her back pop. "I think my posture is getting terrible."

"Your posture has always been pretty bad."

"Thanks Mom." Olivia muttered and walked to her mother's side and looked at the stove. "What're you making?"

"I'm trying my hand at onigiri."

"That so?" Olivia asked, tilting her head. "Why?"

"You like it, right?"

"Yeah, that didn't really answer my question though." Olivia frowned.

"Well, I heard how frustrated you were getting in your room, so I figured that I'd make something—or at least try—that you liked."

_Yikes, I must've been getting pretty pissed._

"I'm sure it'll taste really good Mom. Thanks."

"Smoked salmon is your favorite, right?" Her mother asked, working some of the salmon that was in a separate pan.

"Huh? Uh… yeah. How did you know that?" Olivia asked, furrowing her brows.

"Huh? What're you talking about?" Her mother asked, turning around. "You told me and told me that the first time you had some."

"Oh. Right. That's right. I forgot. Sorry." She laughed awkwardly. "My brain's a little scrambled."

"That's what happens when you stare at a book for hours on end every day. Your… father was like that a lot too. He'd start something and block out everything that he could and when he'd get done for the day, he'd sort of come back down to earth and it would take him a little bit since his mind would be so scrambled." Her mother smiled, but she knew there was a twinge of sadness present. There probably always would be.

"Where's grandma and grandpa? They usually come over for dinner." Olivia asked. Not even a second later, the door opened.

"I told you that already!"

"Ellie, I'm almost 70 years old, what do you want from me?" Her grandfather rolled his eyes.

"To use the brain that I know you have!" Her grandmother exclaimed with a huff.

"You only had to repeat yourself once, stop yelling. Damn you're going to give me a headache…"

Olivia leaned against the wall with a smile, watching her grandparents shuffle into the room. They always argued about everything under the sun, but she could tell with small things that they were still in love. For example, even though they were arguing when they came in, her grandfather held the door open for her grandmother and closed it behind her. They walked into the living room still holding hands. If it wasn't for their example and small displays like that, she wouldn't have thought that love lasted forever. Even though it was beautiful to see, it was somewhat painful.

_I thought I had something like that… I thought I found the one I was meant to be with. Maybe somewhere along the line my string got cut or we got too far apart is snapped and now we're gone from each other. That would be my luck too. Kazuma had commented many times how shitty my luck is._

"Olivia!" Her grandmother said and smiled. "How are you doing?"

"She's fine Ellie. We were over here just yesterday."

"Well I _know _that Jacob, but she's been studying so hard, I didn't want her to get all stressed."

"What're we having tonight, Rebekah?" Her grandfather asked, sitting down in the living room. "Smelled really good when we came in."

"Thanks, Dad. I'm trying my hand at Japanese cooking."

"That's a good idea, Rebekah. Broaden your cooking horizons." Her grandmother said with a nod, also sitting down in the living room; close to her husband.

"Well, Liv has been so stressed lately with her studies that I wanted to at least try to relax her some. Trying to make her feel a little bit better. I heard that it's easier to focus when you're eating food from that specific country when you're studying." Her mother said.

"That right?"

_That sounds like something that you just made up, Mom. Either way I appreciate it._

"Mhm. So, I went to the library and got a cookbook and wrote down some recipes that I remembered Olivia telling me about that she likes and I decided to try. I know it's not going to taste as good as if someone that was born in Japan made it, since we don't have some ingredients here, but I hope you like it." Her mother admitted, slightly worried.

"Don't worry Mom. I'm sure I'll love it." Olivia assured.

"How long until it's ready?" Her grandfather asked.

"You're such a glutton!"

"I'm just hungry, Ellie. You haven't made anything…"

"I'm almost 70 years old, remember?" Her grandmother said and smiled.

"… That isn't fair."

Olivia watched the two. If they would've tried comedy when they were younger, she was sure that they would've made it big. Of course, they may not have had such interesting banter until they got older. Before she had left, her friends at Club Sunshine had commented on how interesting they were to listen to. She had said that a lot of married couples argued so… uniquely in America.

"Dad or Mom, did you happen to get the mail when you came in?"

"Huh? Rebekah we're—"

"Don't give me that, you passed right by the mailbox." Her mother said, clicking her tongue.

"Liv will you—"

"Yeah. No problem."

Olivia walked outside and sighed, scratching the back of her head. It was nice outside and she found herself standing there and looking around at her town. It was so different than Japan, but that was okay. Hawaii had character of its own and she did love her town. One positive was that she could read all the signs here with no problem. A small smile came to her face and she went and grabbed the mail. There wasn't too much, so that was good.

_No news is good news. Well there is _some_, so some news is okay news?_

She sighed and looked up at the sky, closing her eyes for a moment when the salty breeze brushed through her. While she did miss Japan something awful, she had missed Hawaii when she was there. A breeze like this was something she couldn't get there, so coming home wasn't necessarily bad. It was just something to get used to after a while of being gone. With mail in hand, she headed back into the house.

"What'd we get?" Her mother asked.

"Looks like bills, promotional things," Olivia flipped through the mail. "And the… usual?"

"What's wrong?" Her grandmother asked.

"You expecting some weird envelope?" Olivia asked, turning it over and over in her hand.

"Huh? Weird? No. Why?" Her mother turned down the stove and came over to her with furrowed brows, wiping her hands on her aprons.

"What is it?" Her grandmother asked.

"Looks like an envelope to me." Her grandfather asked, tilting his head.

"Haha, grandpa. Funny. It's just an envelope. Nothing on the front or back."

"Hmm… Sounds like something a serial killer would send. I say throw it away." Her grandfather grumbled.

"What?! And never know what's inside?" Her grandmother rolled her eyes. "And a serial killer? Really? Why would a serial killer send something to a house that they were going to hit?"

"To strike fear, Ellie! Obviously!"

"What? Are you serious?

"Like basting a turkey. But with fear." Her grandfather nodded.

"Basting a… turkey." Her mother repeated.

_I mean, he's not wrong. It does sound like something a serial killer would send. But that is a weird analogy grandpa. Very weird._

"Fuck it. I'm gonna open it." Olivia muttered and shrugged. Worst case scenario it was either spam mail or someone trying to baste the fear turkey.

"What's it say?" Her mother asked and went to her side, curiosity in her voice.

There were only two words.  
"'Turn around'?"

Olivia furrowed her brows and did as the note asked. All breath stopped as did her heart. The mail fell from her hands and onto the floor.

"Yo, Kitten." The voice was just like she remembered it; deep and soft. "How—"

Olivia smacked him across the face. She watched him blink and raise his brows.

"Well, I deserved that."

"You're damn right you did!" Olivia exclaimed, tears in her eyes. She sniffled and tried to smack him again, but he deftly caught her wrist with his hand. His ungloved hand. Not bothering to switch languages, she tugged at her hand. "Let me go so I can smack you again."

"Now why would I wanna go and do that if I know yer gonna smack me?"

"Cause you deserve it!" Olivia exclaimed.

"Yeah, I know yer right, but I need ta talk ta ya. If ya let me do that, a lot of shit's gonna start makin' sense."

"You think—" Olivia and her tears stopped instantly and she blinked. "W-Wait a minute…"

Finally, her eyes looked up to meet his one. That same smirk was there and he looked just as he had almost two years ago if not more handsome. Her heart clenched when her gaze turned to his hand holding onto her wrist. Without breaking the contact, he slid his hand down to where it was holding onto hers.

"I… I have been making sure to practice very hard." His voice was a soft whisper.

"You—"

"I think this a conversation you need to have outside in the back by yourselves." Olivia turned around and saw that all her family was smiling. "Wouldn't you think?"

_You all were in on this?!_

"Go on. Go." Her grandmother waved her off.

Olivia went out back and left the sliding door cracked. This wasn't real. This had to be a dream. Goro was here in America. He had come to her house and he understood her when she spoke English? Even more, he… he was _speaking_ it? Awkward and broken, but it was still English. He watched her and she continued to watch him even when he let her hand go. Had he let it go when they were inside, she would've smacked him again, but with him showing his English, it had stunned her enough.

"Why are you here?"

"I know that you must be sad or have been mad. Or both." Goro cleared his throat.

"That didn't answer my question." Olivia tried to be mean or have a steel edge, but it wavered.

"I have coming to America to say many things to you… Things that I have wanting to say for awhile now." He admitted.

"What… What things?"

"Um, first, I uh…" Goro cleared his throat again and thrust something out at her; wiggling it when she didn't take it right away. When Olivia looked down at it, a small smile came to her face despite her wanting to be mad at him. It was a small bouquet of flowers; a purple hyacinth, an orange blossom, primrose, some forget-me-nots, and a red rose. She took the small bouquet with shaking hands and sniffled. Each flower was some sort of apology and declaration of love.

"You… got these for me?"

"Yeah, I… uh—" He sighed and wiped his hands on his pants. "Can we go back ta Japanese for a minute, cause I ain't really good at explainin' this in Japanese and really bad at it in English, so—"

"No."

"Haw?"

"I want to hear it in English."

"'course ya do… I've always been bad at sayin' 'no' ta ya anyway…"

"I can't understand him." Olivia's grandfather whispered and she turned around to see that her family was standing at the sliding glass door.

"It's his apology, let him do it the way he wants." Her mother said.

Goro took a deep breath and sighed,  
"I uh… I have been gone for a long while."

"Yeah. You have."

"Y-Yeah, but I have reason."

"What reason is that?" Olivia asked, looking down at the flowers.

"I hope ya like 'em. I had a hard time knowin' what I wanted ta get ya, so I told the Flower Lady what I wanted ta—right. Right. English." Olivia watched him wipe his hands on his pants again and exhale.

"I do like them. I love them." She smiled.

"Good. Good. Okay. Um… S-So, I had let you be leave Japan. But… I was at airport."

"You—" Goro held up a finger and she stopped.

"I… worry. You're bright person. Heart. Smile. Eyes… j-just all. And I'm dark; in shadows. All yakuza are. I not wanting to be bringing you down into shadows. But… I see that you're not a shadow person. I know. But, I still… want you to be being in my life. For… for a long, _long _time."

"You… do?"

"Mhm. I not come back sooner, be-because I want to try and learning some English… I know it not being very good, but—"

"You've been gone for a year and a half. That's amazing progress to make in that time."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah. For sure."

"Good. Good." Goro exhaled again. "I saw how you had trouble in Japan trying to say many things you want to be saying, and… I want to have something in common. To know more like you. Um… no. To know more _about_ you. Try and be closer. Even though very far apart."

"Really?"

"Mm." He nodded, shuffling his foot against the brick on their pack patio.

"That makes me really happy." Olivia smiled brightly, making him look from her and back down to his shoes.

_I must've embarrassed him._

"There's more I want tell."

"Okay."

"It's whole reason, well not _whole _reason, but big reason I want to learn."

"Okay." Olivia nodded. "What is it?"

The first bit of confidence she had seen in this whole conversation was him crossing the distance between them and ran his fingers through her hair. She looked up at him and his face was deathly serious and his brows were furrowed.

"W-Why are you looking at me like that?" Red almost as red as the rose came to her cheeks.

"Olivia." His thumb brushed against her cheekbone as he held her face in his hands. "I love you."

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped slightly. It was the first time that he had ever called her by her name to her face other than the time at Little Asia. And it was the very first time he had said those words to her. Both were in perfect English, sounding exactly like a native despite the L and Vs that were in the words.

"You do…?"

"Mhm." Goro nodded, then his face turned into a look of worry. "D-Did I say okay? I practice _really _hard to make sure sounded perfect."

Olivia sniffled and nodded, brushing some tears from her eyes.  
"Yeah. It sounded perfect."

"Okay. Okay. Good. Good."

"I love you too."

"Even more good." Goro laughed a short, awkward laugh. "That been plan."

"Huh?"

"When I talk about plan, I want to say certain things; _special _things in English. For you. But I want to make sure they're sounding exactly perfect. Because… it's being for you." Goro's voice went to a whisper again and he blushed but tried to hide it.

"Goro…"

"Will you… come back to Sotenbori?" Goro mumbled. "Sotenbori, ah… no… _Japan _isn't being the same… without you in it."

_You want me to move back to Japan?_

"B-But I not just wanting you there for little bit. I… I want you to be staying in Japan for good… with me."

"Move to Japan? For good?"

"Mm." Goro gave a curt nod and put his hand in his pocket. "Will you do?"

"But… there's so many things that I need to do to become a Japanese citizen. I have to take a test and my Japanese isn't good verbally or writing. I'd have to pick a last name, and—"

"I-I know last name you can be pick."

"You do?" Olivia asked. When Goro nodded she blinked. "What is it?"

"…"

"Well?"

"Majima."

"That's your—" Olivia's eyes widened.

Goro pulled something from his pocket and Olivia looked down at it. In his large hand was a piece of red string. On each end was a ring. She covered her mouth and she inhaled. He didn't look back up at her, but he fiddled with the small piece in his hands.

"I told you like Red String of Fate. You-You don't have to be, but, um… You're um… you're on my end. If you be wanting it, I… I can be on your end."

The tears started to fall and she sniffled. They were happy tears. Probably the happiest that she's ever felt. Elation even. Olivia took her hand from her mouth and looked up at him. Goro's face was serious and awkward at the same time. He looked so worried she wouldn't accept, but he didn't need to be. Not at all. That was perfect. Unable to speak, she ended up nodding.

"Really?" Olivia nodded. "Ya can't take it back now, ya said it already."

"I'm not going to take it back."

"Promise? Ah, ain't no reason ta answer that because ya already said ya were gonna."

Goro smiled and nodded, untying the knot from the red string and putting it on her finger before doing the same to his own. He took his face in her hands and leaned down.  
"I love you, Olivia Harper." He spoke.

"I love you, Goro Majima." She said and closed her eyes as he pressed their lips together; soft and pure.

_I found the end of my red string._


	4. The Red String: Joining

"You look beautiful."

"You think so?"

"I _know _so, Olivia."

For the millionth time, she turned around in front of the mirror looking herself over. All her friends and her mother had assured her a million and one times that she looked beautiful, but she was still nervous. This was something that she had always dreamed of. It was something that all girls dreamed of; getting married to the one they loved more than anything. For about a year, they had been trying to plan the wedding. Goro had said that he was up for anything, but it was her day and she could pick. Olivia was sure that he was just saying that because he felt out of his element and in over his head. There was more than one style of weddings in Japan, which made things harder as they were indeed getting married in Japan. After much deliberation and careful planning, they had decided to combine both cultures into one ceremony.

With one hurdle overcome, they had to decide what would be taken from which culture and how to properly integrate them into one ceremony. At first, Olivia had worried that taking some things from a different culture's wedding and setting them with one of their own would be inappropriate or rude. If it was though, no one said anything, and all her friends had supported them. Having the Tojo Clan as a supporter probably helped too in case anyone had any ideas of saying something. Everything down to the smallest bit was taken care of by Chairman Sera himself. Whatever she wanted for the ceremony, she ended up getting. She remembered thinking 'so much for getting out of the royal treatment'. Olivia thought it was because he may have thought of her as a little sister and most big brothers wanted their little sisters to have everything—especially on their wedding day. Olivia had told Chairman Sera that he didn't have to go through all the trouble, but he brushed her off.

She turned around again in the mirror looking at her dress. It was also custom-made. A beautifully amazing dress that also combined two cultures into one. The dress was white—so much so that when it was shown to her for the first time, it had almost blinded her. Around the middle was a kimono-style obi, tied in the back, and decorated with a silken pattern of cherry blossoms that matched the bottom of her dress similar to the design that she had worn at Club Sunshine when she was a hostess the last time. Her hair was done in an elegant updo that was seen in many American weddings. Bringing her soon-to-be husband's culture into it, she had a _kanzashi_—a large hair ornament sticking into her bun and dangling by her ear. Just like her dress, it was made to look like real cherry blossoms. One touch that she _had _to have, despite the assurance from everyone else that it wasn't necessary, was the Tojo Clan insignia in her hairpiece. It was small, but she had made sure that it was in there before they had put it into her hair. The sleeves were almost non-existent and resembled a cluster of jewels.

"C'mon, it's almost time." Her mother said and leaned over and kissed her forehead. "You're beautiful."

Olivia dabbed at some tears before watching her mother leave. She took another look at herself in the mirror praying that Goro would end up liking her dress and just being with her forever in general. There was always time to turn back before they got married. She took a deep breath and left the room. Standing close to the room was Kazuma. When she stepped out, he blinked and a small smile spread across his face. For the first time, the furrow between his brows was almost gone.

"Do… Do I look okay?" She asked, looking down at her dress.

"You look beautiful."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Really." Kazuma assured.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"But… are you _really _sure?" Olivia asked, brushing off some imaginary lint from her dress skirt.

"Olivia. You do look beautiful. Relax."

"I am relaxed. Completely." She muttered and cleared her throat.

"You sure?" Kazuma said, offering his arm.

"Mhm!" Olivia exhaled and wrapped her arm around his.

All of the worry left in an instant when the doors opened and Olivia headed down the aisle with Kazuma. A small smile came to Olivia's face when she saw Goro go completely rigid and then rubbed the back of his head. The smile only became brighter when he looked glanced down at his shoes and then up at her again, just to look back down at his shoes.

Despite all the money poured into her dress, flowers, cake, reception, and everything else that she had wanted to beautifully merge the two cultures together, the ceremony was fairly small and very intimate. Although the ceremony itself was taking place at Tojo Clan headquarters—due to her own request—only a small list of people were invited. Kazama-san, Chairman Sera, Oda, her grandparents, her mother who was sitting next to Kashiwagi-san with her hand on top of his, Youda-san, and all the girls from Club Sunshine, Damion, and Ethan and her father's urns were there as well. They walked to the end and Kazuma kissed her forehead and waved at her grandfather. He so desperately had wanted to walk her down the aisle, but he had gotten injured a couple days before and didn't want to make her worry about him falling on their way up. Olivia took her place across from Goro and gave a small smile to which he returned with an awkward smile of his own.

Multiple times during the ceremony, she had to dab tears away from her face. Goro had wanted her to cry happy tears with him, this was about as happy as she could get. One tradition that she liked about a Japanese wedding ceremony is _san-san-kudo. _It means "three, three, nine times". Goro had been shocked when she asked if they could include it during their ceremony. It was common in Buddhist and Shinto ceremonies. Each of them were to take 3 sips of sake from each of the 3 cups. The first were to mean the couples of the bride and groom and their parents. The second set represented three human flaws of hatred, passion, and ignorance. It was a group of flaws that each human possessed, but with the exchange, it was acknowledging each carried their traits, but believed the other could cleanse them of the traits and bring out the best of each other. While the third set represents love, wisdom, and happiness. Without missing a beat, she took part in the _san-san-kudo_, surprising some of her guests that she was so willing to incorporate their culture into their wedding.

When asked to recite their vows after the _san-san-kudo_, Goro froze and looked from the priest over to Olivia, repeating the motion twice before clearing his throat.

"Majima-san, do you wish to go first?" The priest asked and Olivia gave a small laugh when he shook his head, glancing up at her. "Alright. Harper-san?"

"Goro. When I first met you, I had no idea how much you would end up meaning to me. No matter what ended up happening, you always came back to me. You always made sure that you were there when I needed you. There are so many that go through life wanting and hoping to find—to find what I have. Two people that aren't whole without each other. A set that can't be whole without the other. It's in times of pain and fear that we've experienced that I was able to see right into your soul and know that my faith in you, my love for you, is eternal. You are brave, kind, and—and always giving of yourself. I want you to know that I will always be the same for you; I'll bring to you what you've given me—the gift of true love. Forever."

"Majima-san?" The priest said and turned to look at Goro.

"U-Um… well…" Goro cleared his throat. "We uh… We really gotta say it right in front of everyone?"

"Y-Yes." The priest said, clearly taken aback. That was probably something he'd never heard asked.

"Oh, uh… Hmm—w-well, can I tell ya later?"

Olivia couldn't help it and started giggling,  
"Yeah, you—"

"No he can't!" A voice came from the back and Olivia looked and saw Damion had stood up and cupped his hands around his mouth to make his voice carry. "Have to say it now."

"Well, uh, I mean… if I didn't like her—or love her I wouldn't be standin' here." He muttered. "Y'know?"

"Doesn't matter! You have to say it now!" Damion called again.

"There are ones that are pre-written if you—"

"Naw Priest Man, I got my own things that I need ta say."

"Alright then."

"Just… gimme a minute." Goro cleared his throat again and rubbed his hands on his pants. "I—uh, well dammit…"

Olivia smiled and watched him fidget.

"Olivia, I—"

"Mm?" She tilted her head, watching him.

"Hold on." Goro held up a finger.

"Okay."

"Olivia, I—" He tried again.

"Yes?"

"Dammit… Okay uh, for real this time, 'kay?" Goro asked and exhaled, wiping his hands on his pants again.

"Okay."

"Okay. Okay. Olivia, I uh—I like ya a lot."

"Well, I would hope so." She giggled.

"R-Right. I mean like a lot though. Like a _lot_."

_This is probably the cutest thing I've ever seen you do._

"I like you a lot too."

"Ya do? Ah well of course ya do or we wouldn't be standin' here. Right?"

"Mhm."

"Yeah. Right. Okay."

From the corner of her eyes, she expected some of the others to be smiling, knowing they could use this for ammo later or ready to start laughing. After all, they were seeing The Mad Dog of Shimano stumbling over his words and rambling, but none of them did. Not even the girls at Club Sunshine that loved to tease him endlessly. Even Damion's outburst had been because they wanted to hear how Goro felt. They all held smiles of encouragement and happiness.

"Olivia, I uh… Look. When I first met ya, I thought ya were gonna be a real pain in my ass. Sometimes even after we got close ya still were—but in a good way, I promise! Ya grew on me though. With yer face… and hair… and eyes and stuff like that. I think one of the things that really made me fall for ya was just how patient ya are with me. 'bout anythin' really. How acceptin' ya are. That's nice too. Well, all of ya is nice. Nice heart. Personality and… stuff like that… There are a lot of things that made me really like ya. I mean, yer pretty nice and stuff like that. And pretty. That too. But uh… ya accepted me. Just as I am—flaws and all. And I'm talkin' about some _big _flaws. But… ya still love me anyway. Yer weird like that, ya know? Someone that's got the nickname The Mad Dog of Shimano and ya end up lovin' him. I-I guess what I'm tryin' ta say, Kitten, uh Olivia is that I love ya. A lot. Like a _lot_. And… I'm real happy that ya love me too."

_That was the most awkward and perfect and pure vow in the history of forever._

Tears filled her eyes again and she ended up letting them fall when the priest pronounced them husband and wife. Goro took both sides of her face in his hands and kissed her; soft as silk and gentle as satin. Happy tears continued to fall down her face when he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. Their kiss broke and he put his forehead against hers, whispering just low enough so that they were able to hear,

"I love you, Olivia Majima." He said in perfect English.


	5. The Red String: Two Become One

Possibly one of the hardest things to plan was where to go for the honeymoon. Whenever Olivia had wanted Goro's opinion on it, he had always just smiled at her and said 'wherever ya wanna go is where we're gonna go'. Of course, that was the sweetest and most loving thing to say in the history of ever. While trying to figure it out, she had often caught him just watching her pace back and forth in their apartment which was now a fully personalized home. The shelves that were once bare now held pictures of them together, with her family, with their friends, and other various things she had taken pictures of with her camera. She had made sure to get a bigger—but not too big—table so that it was easier to put more food on it. Even though she didn't _want _to, she had conceded to not eating takoyaki every day to every other day. They had went shopping for a rice cooker and she had been so amazed at all the different kinds there were. Eventually after thrusting every single cute rice cooker in his face that she could and getting varying smiles, they had agreed on getting the Hello Kitty rice cooker. Olivia had worried that he was just saying that to sate her and would be embarrassed to it in their home, so she had tried to put it back multiple times and go with a more normal looking one. Each time he kept picking it back from the shelf, getting to the point to where he had to hold it over his head so she wouldn't grab it again. 'I've seen how ya keep lookin' back at it every time ya pass it. Yer getting' it.' was what he had said when she tried to reach for it again.

After much deliberation and blushing when she caught him watching her, they had _both _decided on going somewhere small and intimate for their honeymoon. Once they had decided on their criteria, Olivia became at a loss. Even though Japan was her new home, she had no idea where would be the small, intimate places that they wanted. One place in particular that had seemed to sound especially beautiful was Miyajima. Part of the reason was because from what Goro told her, it was beautiful and serene and living in Sotenbori and traveling to Kamurocho quite a lot, peaceful and serene was just what they were looking for. The other reason is that it was close to their last name. When Olivia had pointed out that all that was needed was to take out the i and the y to create their last name, he had just sat back and made a small sound of shock. That's what solidified their destination. The only problem for her was that it was located just outside of Hiroshima. While she knew that not _all _older Japanese people blamed Americans for something the normal populace—especially those that weren't even thought of yet—had done back in World War 2, there were those that hated Americans in general for it.

Hearing her reasoning for worrying about going to Miyajima only fueled Goro's fiery determination of letting her have anything that she wanted or doing everything that she wanted to do even more. After their wedding and the extremely bountiful reception of everything imaginable from both cultures, they were taken by a Tojo Clan car. Olivia was going to have to accept that with gossip of Goro becoming the patriarch of his own family, she was always going to get the royal treatment—especially if Chairman Sera decided to give him his own family. Having your own family was an honor, one of the best ways to climb the ranks. She couldn't help but feel bad though for whatever group of men were placed in his family as he was rather eccentric, and they'd have a hell of a time getting used to it.

"Majima fujin."

Olivia stared out the window, marveling at the beautiful scenery that continued to pass by. This was a whole new life. While it was rather terrifying to say the least, it was still amazingly wonderful and exciting. She'd be able to experience something not only not all women get to experience, but that most people in general get to experience.

"Oku-san?"

She wondered how she could tell Goro that she was excited about their marriage, but a little scared at the same time. Not because he was a yakuza. They had crossed that bridge a _long _time ago, and even then she had never been truly scared of him. Olivia didn't want him to get the wrong idea; she was just scared that she would do something to mess it up and embarrass them or him, or not be a good wife in general. Marriage had issues and problems, being a wife to a potential patriarch in the largest yakuza clan in all of Kanto was pressure. Not an unbearable amount of pressure as she did have people looking out for her and those that cared for her as allies and even family.

"Oku…sama?"

For someone as high as him, not in rank so much, but in reputation he was rather awkward with this sort of thing and could get all flustered in thinking that she wouldn't want to be with him anymore. Olivia couldn't blame him. She had found out just how insecure he could be with these sorts of things. It helped that she was too. After all, their coupling was strange in itself much less the marriage. She had liked how it all turned out though. It was perfectly beautiful.

"Olivia."

"Hm?" She turned to Goro who nodded his head at the driver.

"He's been talking to ya."

"Huh?" Olivia turned and saw that the driver was holding an envelope over his shoulder as he was driving. "O-Oh! I'm so sorry!"

She quickly took the envelope and gave a small bow of apology. Getting called anything but 'Harper' was going to be difficult to remember, especially when it wasn't her native language. It would be okay though. Everyone that she associated with at the clan was understanding and Goro would be there to help her out too. Maybe she'd need a crash course on all the things that she'd be addressed as both as being married in general and being the wife of a yakuza.

"Wassat?" Goro asked, leaning close to her ear.

"Not sure." Olivia opened the envelope and instantly brightened. "It being the photos we took."

"Photos?"

"Mhm! The photos we took in Shinjuku." Olivia took them out and flipped through them.

There were quite a lot shockingly enough. Some were duplicates and even triplets, but that just meant that she could give them to her family to have. Goro was quite apprehensive about having engagement photo shooting. Not up to date on any sort of showing of affection—as displayed during the wedding itself—he had assumed it was going to be a group of people. When she assured him that it would just be them and the photographer, he had relented. If Chairman Sera had've found out, it wouldn't have made a difference because, 'whatever Olivia wants, Olivia gets'. Off-handedly, she wondered how a biological sister of Chairman Sera's would've gotten treated. Not wanting to be watched by people either, both had chosen Shinjuku Memory Lane. It was a narrow alley of traditional Japanese restaurants which was considered a hidden gem as everyone was starting to prefer the modernized shopping areas in the Shinjuku district.

"Wow…" Goro muttered and Olivia handed him the first photo.

"Do they looking okay?"

"Yeah. Ya look really b-b… dammit. I'll be able ta say it with no problem eventually, promise." Goro looked up at the roof of the car and sighed.

"It's okay." Olivia smiled and showed him another photo.

"Ain't gonna lie, these turned out pretty damn good. Glad ya talked me into it."

"_Ooh_! Are you?" Olivia nudged him which garnered a small smirk.

"… Shuddup."

_I can tell how much you like them. It's okay. Don't worry about verbalizing it so much right now._

Olivia looked at all the photos, showing her favorites to Goro. Once they got back to Sotenbori, she wondered if they could go shopping for photo albums to put all the beautiful photos. The best of the best would be put on the shelf of ever growing pictures. They hadn't talked about it yet, and she hadn't admitted it yet, but she hoped that one day there would be pictures of children up there as well. While Goro was looking at one of his favorite photos; she had her arms on his shoulders and his hands were wrapped around her waist. Their eyes were closed and he was kissing her forehead. That was one of her favorites as well. Shinjuku memory lane was beautiful, and she was glad that they were able to capture both their love and the scenery behind them to combine them into one picture. She continued to stare at him and admire how genuinely _happy _and at peace he looked.

"Whatcha starin' at?"

"Hm? Just you."

"Me? Why?" Goro looked from the photo and over at her.

"Because I love you."

"T-That ain't fair, hittin' from left field again…" He muttered and looked down. "When did my Kitten get so bold again?"

Olivia giggled, and leaned over to look at the photo he held in his hand. Her laughter stopped when she felt his lips against the top of her head.  
"I love you." He whispered against her hair.

"H-Hey, _you're _the one that hitting from the left field now."

"_Ooh_, _there's _the cute little blush I know ya got."

"What's Miyajima like?" Olivia asked, brushing some hair from her face.

"Ain't quite sure. Haven't been there myself." He said, brushing a stray hair that had fallen from her face and putting it behind her ear. The feel of his fingers against her skin made her face turn pink, but she loved the feeling. "But I heard it's got some pretty cool shit."

"Really? That makes me excited."

The ride was about four hours, but she hadn't minded. During the time, she had been informed of all the ways that she could be addressed and realized that she had seemingly snubbed the driver using even the highest honorific. The driver wouldn't take any amount of apologies as he had said there was nothing to apologize for. Being addressed as someone's wife in general was strange but hearing a Japanese last name that she was so used to associating with Goro and _only _Goro being used to address her as well was going to take time. Thankfully, the driver had understood the confusion and just brushed it off. Truthfully, he didn't really have a choice but to be nice to a woman who had just married into one of the most powerful yakuza clans in all of Japan. But she could tell that the man really meant it.

Olivia reached for the door, but Goro ended up grabbing her hand and shaking his head.  
"It's a large sign of respect, go ahead and let him do it."

"O-Oh. Okay."

The man not only opened the car door for them, but also ended up taking their luggage out of the trunk. It wasn't much, just a small suitcase and a small bag, but to the driver he may as well have been carrying something as important as luggage filled with the most precious gems on the planet. Olivia had tried to reach for the luggage, but Goro had grabbed onto her hand again. Their luggage wasn't heavy in any sense, but it was the royal treatment that she was so unused to. From Goro always taking her hand and the driver's refusal to drop extremely important honorifics, 'fujin' was 'Mrs.' and that was something she was going to have to be on the look out on hearing. Pick it up to make sure which Majima they were talking about. Some of the people that were on the ferry with them, looked in confusion and somewhat worry at seeing an interracial married couple who had gotten let out of a car, their luggage was being carried, and the man had bowed so deep when they had actually gotten _out _of the car, Olivia thought that his forehead might touch the floor. Not to mention that Goro looked extremely intimidating for someone who didn't know him.

"I can tell it makes ya uncomfortable, Kitten." Goro said, leaning on the railing with her. "But while it may seem like an inconvenience for ya or something that ain't necessary, not only is it their job but it's also a major sign of respect."

"Yeah, I know." Olivia said. "Just not being used to it."

"With time ya will. Everyone understands that ya don't mean anythin' by it, so ya ain't gotta worry about that. Okay? So, take all the time ya need." Goro placed a hand on top of her head, making her smile.

"Mm. Thank you."

There was silence between them as they watched the passing parts of the ocean and how beautiful the scenery looked. Olivia looked entranced by how beautiful everything looked on the ocean. Her eyes were wide and she had a bright smile on her face.

"Hey. Kitten." Goro's voice was almost a whisper.

"Mm?"

"Do ya think I can do it?"

"Do what?" Olivia asked, looking at his truly concerned profile.

"Just… all of it. Be a good patriarch. Be a good friend. Be a good husband… just all of it."

"Goro—"

"Sorry, I know we're gonna have fun and this is gonna be nice, I'm just worried 'bout it is all."

Olivia reached over and grabbed onto his hand, interlocking their fingers. From the look on his features, this hadn't been a passing worry. This was something that he's been shouldering for a long time. A smile was on her face as she stared at the passing ocean while speaking.  
"Well, you've always been amazing friend. For a husband? I have none doubts that you'll end up being an amazing husband too. I wouldn't be worrying about it."

"Even with my really awkward wordin' and let's be real here, the fact I have a hard time complimentin' ya and tellin' ya what I'm sure ya'd like ta hear?" He asked, his head slightly low. "I feel really bad that I couldn't tell ya in front of everyone how much I love ya."

"Even with all that. Your awkwardness is one of many things that I love you for. And, Goro, you _did _tell in front of everyone how much you be love me."

"W-Well, I tried, but it wasn't perfect and all eloquent and pretty like yers was… So, I tried ta sound as brave and pure when ya did yers. But I'm worried I didn't get my point across."

"You did. It was pure and perfect. I love it. And you. I wouldn't want to be going back and change it. At all."

"Yer sure?" Goro asked and looked over at her, smiling slightly.

"Positive. I love for here, remember?" Olivia placed her other hand on her chest. "To me, you are perfect."

Goro looked down at the ocean and sniffled and looked back up.  
"That salty air can get ya all snifflin'. Watch out for that, 'kay?"

"Okay, I will."

They pulled up towards Miyajima closer and Olivia stood on her tiptoes looking at the beautiful scenes before her. One thing in particular that she instantly went and looked at when they were allowed off the ferry was the _huge _Shinto gate that looked like it was floating in the water. She tilted her head and gasped, looking it up and down. There could be three or four of her standing on top of each other, and she _still _didn't think she could reach the top.

"Itsukushima." Goro said from behind her.

"Huh?" She asked but didn't take her eyes from the gate that looked like it was floating in the ocean.

"That great torii over there? It's part of the Itsukushima Shine. It's s'posed ta be a gateway between the spirits and the human world."

"Really?"

"Mm. Not sure if I believe it though, if I'm bein' honest with ya."

"I think so."

"Haw? Ya do?" Goro looked down at her.

"Mhm. Look. From here there so many things; people, buildings, and everything. Over there through gate is nothing but mountains and peace right through. It's beautiful. Almost look like different world that we can see into." Olivia explained, using her hands to gesture as she did so.

"Ya always make me see things in a different light. Ya know that?"

"That good?"

"Mm. It is." Goro assured and took her hand.

When they arrived at their hotel, a small quaint little place much to Olivia's pleasure, they unpacked everything they would need for the week that they were staying. Goro had barely unpacked the last thing before she was ready to leave again. One of the women that was at the desk of their hotel told them about Omotesando Street. It was the main visitor's street on Miyajima Island. So naturally, Goro had decided that he wanted to go and take her, and she had readily agreed. Like the rest of the island, it was small, but it was filled with everything that they could want; gift shops, restaurants, coffee shops, ice cream shops, candy stores, art and historical artifacts. Goro had told her that there's a lot of Hiroshima's culture that he saw from places on the street. Each time she turned around, she'd find something else that interested her.

"Hey, come with me."

"Mm." Olivia said and walked up to a booth that had all sorts of candies. Most of which she'd never seen before and some she was having a harder time reading. Although, she was extremely proud of herself that she was able to read some of them with no issues at all.

"Here." Goro handed her a small bag with ten interestingly shaped… things? Olivia assumed that since they were at a candy shop that they had to be candy, but it wasn't what she normally thought of when she thought of candy. They looked like a star or a maple leaf depending on which way it was turned. Olivia took one and bit into it, her eyes lighting up. "Good?"

"Mm! What is this?"

"Momiji Manju." The woman at the booth said. "It's a candy that's made fresh here all the time."

"This sweet red bean?" Olivia asked before taking another bite.

"Yes. Your husband bought every flavor for you."

"Hey, ya didn't have ta _tell _her that."

Olivia looked at the candies and then looked up at Goro who had cleared his throat.  
"Thank you very much!"

"You're right Okayaku-sama." The woman said, glad she remembered that she said 'customer' or she felt like she would've looked like an idiot not knowing what she meant and potentially having to ask. "Her and her smile are beautiful."

"Is this some conspiracy or somethin', Lady? Ya tell her everything I asked ya _not _ta tell her?"

"Telling a lady she's beautiful makes her happy and makes her smile. Since it's easy to tell how much you love her, you want to see her smile all the time. I just told her because I knew what you said would make her happy." The woman said.

Goro cleared his throat and looked down at his own candy.  
"Well… ya are pretty b-b—dammit… B-beaut…iful, Olivia."

Olivia blushed and took another bite of her candy.  
"Thank you."

"You two are just recently married, yes?"

"Yes. We come here for honeymoon. Also, we pick place because it's close to our last name."

Our _last name. I love the sound of that._

"Oh?"

"Majima." Goro muttered.

"My that is rather close. I hope you two have an amazing life together. Congratulations." The woman fiddled around with some more of the candy and handed a small bag to Olivia. "My gift to you."

"O-Oh. Thank you very much."

Olivia continued down the street with Goro. He reached over and grabbed onto her hand, looking away from her and clearing his throat. She couldn't help but smile at him.  
"Sorry if that sounded creepy, what I told that old lady. I didn't mean it ta be creepy."

"No, it wasn't. It make me very happy."

"Really?"

"Mm."

"Good. Good." He cleared his throat.

While they continued to walk down the street, Olivia munched at the Momiji Manju. She found that she loved each flavor that Goro had gotten her; sweet bean paste, strawberry, green tea, and chocolate. Her _favorite _one was the sweet bean paste. It didn't seem to shock him as that was his favorite as well and the most popular. The one that she liked the least was the chocolate one, but she still liked it a lot. Olivia was on her second strawberry one when she heard a sound. Her eyes widened when she saw a deer walk right out in front of her. She blinked and almost ran into it. The fluffy tail moved and it reminded her of Cupcake when she was super excited. Olivia had never seen a deer this friendly before and when she looked over at Goro, he merely nodded and let go of her hand. Hesitantly, still worried about what could happen since deer were wild, she put her hand on its head and pet the soft fur. Her eyes widened when the deer didn't run away and its eyes closed. Olivia continued to pet the deer but stopped when its eyes opened. She looked at Goro, worried that the deer was going to haul off and kick her, but it just brought its nose closer to her.

"Oh, you want some?" Olivia asked, watching it move to her hand and then the bag where all her candy was at. "I can't give you chocolate. That'll hurt you. How about this one? It's strawberry." She reached out her hand and offered the candy. The deer sniffed it and took it from her hand.

"Hey, lookit that. He likes it. Hey. Do all animals like ya?" Goro asked as they walked away.

"I only really seen deer here. And Cupcake."

"Well ya got a corgi pup likin' ya, ya got deer likin' ya, ya got… a Mad Dog lovin' ya." He muttered the last part, but Olivia heard it.

"I might be."

They enjoyed Miyajima Island to the fullest that they were able to the first night. The same deer that she had fed followed them around and Olivia had ended up breaking down and giving it two more candies. Just before it continued to catch up with them again, another young couple fed the deer and it followed them for food instead. Not having the deer right on them gave them time to go and eat. Everything they had was amazing. Every now and again, she'd catch Goro staring at her. But when she would bring it up, he'd just say 'yer seein' things' or something along those lines. Olivia interlocked their fingers making him look away. He guided her through the trees to a small bridge. From their vantage point, they had an amazing view of the sunset. Olivia said nothing but stood close and held his hand as they watched the sun descend through the trees.

Olivia had barely closed the door to her and Goro's hotel room when she had an arm wrapped around her and pulled her close. She let out a sound of surprise and looked up at him. That same devilish smirk was on his face as he looked her face over.  
"Have I ever told ya how cute ya are with 'bout pretty much everythin' ya do?"

"H-Huh? No. You haven't."

"Gotta change that then. Although ya shocked me, Kitten. Never thought someone could look cute feedin' a deer. But there ya went and did it." Goro smiled.

"Geez. You're making me blush."

"Mm. And I like it. Yer cute when ya do that too."

"Gosh. How can you be saying something like that so easily?"

"Just when it's with you." Goro smiled and pulled her close in an embrace. "Can I tell ya somethin'?"

"Sure." Olivia said, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Y'know… it really means a lot that ya wanted to put some of Japan into our weddin'."

"Why wouldn't I? It's my home. _Our _home. It's where I meet you. Where I meet all my close friends. It's… where I found my real dad."

"I've heard a lot of the times women like ta make things all 'bout them on their weddin'. And I mean, they kinda _can _'cause it is their day and everythin' like that. But… I really am glad that ya accepted not only me, but all of Japan too… and ya wanted ta show that."

"Goro… thank you."

"I ain't done though."

"Oh?" Olivia looked up at him.

"And ya didn't even bat an eye at it. Like when ya bat yer eyes but that ain't the point. Anyway, yer just an acceptin' person like I said. Ya accepted me and all my flaws, my huge and what I assumed were deal breaker flaws. That was okay though, I didn't mind then. 'til ya actually started to accept me as a person, then I got all sorts of confused 'cause ya liked being with _me_. As a person. Everythin' about me as a person. Ya accepted I'm in the yakuza. Ya accepted my friend. My _clan_. I mean ya wore the goddamned clan insignia in yer hair. I mean, like, what kinda normal woman does that? Ah, there it is. Normal. Ya ain't normal, and I like that. Love that even."

"The Tojo Clan is what bring us together. I wanted to show appreciation."

"Ya wouldn't even walk down the aisle till ya made sure that ya had it on ya. I guess it's just… amazin' ta me that ya ended up not only wigglin' yer way up in my heart, but ya made an impression on the Chairman and the other patriarchs. Don't think I've ever seen the Chairman dote on someone that much. He really does think of ya as the sister he never had I think. 'Whatever Olivia wants, Olivia gets'."

"I tried to be telling him he didn't have to do it."

"Naw, he didn't mind. He was glad ta see ya happy. And uh… I was too. I _am _too. I always wanna see ya happy. No matter what ya do. Even if its feedin' a fuckin' deer I wanna make sure yer happy."

"I am."

"I love you. Like a lot." Goro told her.

"I love you too. Like a lot."

Olivia blushed when she felt his hands going up the sides of her shirt.  
"And y'know. That dress was just… damn. Ya looked so beautiful in it. Perfect. Ya really did."

"Y-Yeah?"

"Mhm." His hands moved to her back and Olivia felt her heart quicken. "Kinda sad that _everyone _had ta see ya in it, but it's okay. They ain't gonna get any ideas. I know they ain't."

"I have something for you." Olivia said.

"_Ooh_? What is it?" Goro gasped. "What has my precious Kitten got for me?"

"I show you, but you have to stay here for moment. Okay? I call you later."

"Haw? What—"

"Don't worry. It be fine."

Olivia went into the bedroom and closed the door. She could hear Goro walking around out in the other room, trying to be stealthy, but she noticed how his footsteps would get closer and then further away again. She had thought about this for a long time. It wasn't really her thing to do, and while she didn't know if she would be able to pull it off, she hoped that he would like it. And even if he didn't like it could appreciate what she went through to do it.

"O-Okay!" Olivia cleared her throat and brushed some hair from her face.

"Can I come in now?"

"Y-Yeah." Her heart was almost beating out of her chest.

Goro opened the door and stopped dead in his tracks.

_I hope this was a good idea._

"H-Hello. My name is Olivia Majima, and I'll be your nurse today." She bowed.

This time, it wasn't the American nurse outfit. She stood before him with a short pink, low cut dress on. She had decided not to buy the heels since she was terrible at walking in them. Not that she would be doing much walking. The heels wouldn't have lasted long anyway. Buttons were all along the front of the dress and a couple ribbons were along the side. The dress came to her upper thigh. And yes, she had gotten the hat and the thigh high socks too.

_He isn't saying anything. Does it look bad? Did I just embarrass myself to the highest extent?_

She looked up and saw that Goro's eye was widened and his jaw was dropped.

_That's a good sign, right?_

Olivia couldn't even form the words or articulate her worry. When the silence stretched between them for almost a minute, she smoothed out the dress and cleared her throat.  
"D-Do I look okay?"

"Holy shit." Goro walked over to her and put his hands on her hips. "Ya got this for me?"

"M-Mhm. Is it okay?"

"Okay?"

"Y-Yeah. I wasn't sure what kind to have get." Olivia admitted. They had all sorts of different ones, ones that she couldn't even _begin _to picture herself in. So, she had gone for one of the tamer ones. Considering everything that Goro's scene and—let's be real here—done, she wasn't sure he would like one that was like a body suit just covering the essential parts.

"Baby, yer are the sexiest and most beautiful nurse I've ever seen in my life."

"Really?" She brightened.

"Definitely. Without a doubt." He cupped her face in his hands and leaned down at kissed her; soft, as if to reassure her that she looked okay. "Look, ya even got the cute little hat on. And the socks. And pink."

"Mm." She blushed and put some hair behind her ear. The red on her cheeks only increasing when his hands ran along her hips and up her body, brushing home hair from her shoulder to brush his lips along the newly exposed skin.

"Y'know, Nurse, I've been gettin' this problem lately." He breathed against her neck.

"Problem?"

"Mhm." Olivia exhaled when he placed soft kisses along her neck and jawline. His hand running along her back.

"What kind of problem?"

Roleplay wasn't something she was good at. Or had ever thought she would _ever _be doing. Then again, she didn't think she'd be married to a powerful yakuza either. Truthfully, she didn't think Goro wanted to do much roleplaying. And truthfully, for that, she was thankful. He probably just wanted something different to wear, so he could add to the growing pile of clothes he'd pulled off her. There was something else that she had added to this mix that she hoped he would like too. This whole situation was rather bold of her, and she had no idea what she was doing, but she could feel how patient he was being. How much he wanted to turn this into something that could be loving. He was good at that.

"Lots of swelling. Throbbing." Goro continued to whisper against her skin, leaving goosebumps wherever his breath touched. "Would ya mind takin' a look for me, Nurse Majima?"

"O-Of course." Olivia said clearing her throat, pushing off his jacket. Her hands ran along his neck, to his shoulders, arms, chest, and abdomen. He let out small moans and exhales when her hands trailed along his chest to his abdomen, especially at his hips. She was utterly clueless at this, but from the sounds he was making and the goosebumps that were rising on his skin, she assumed that she was doing _something _right. She reached for his belt and started to undo it. "Sir, it seems that I'll need to continue my examination."

"You're the pro here." He said, his breathing shaky.

_Yeah no. Not me. _You're _the pro here if anyone._

Goro leaned down and kissed her. It held passion, love, and desire. One thing she loved about him was that he was so gentle. With other women, she could see him easily throwing her onto the bed and just slamming into her. Her though, he always took his time with her. She recalled when he told Damion back then that she was a person, not a piece of meat. And he made her feel like that each time they were together; sexual or not. He always treated her like she was the most precious thing on this planet.

"Whatcha think, Nurse Majima?" Goro asked having pulled down and removed all his clothes for his examination, sitting down on the bed when Olivia guided him.

"That's a large problem, Sir. W-Well, normally the doctor treats patients, but… he's out right now." She blushed. This was probably one of the most embarrassing things she's ever done, but, from the small circles he was rubbing into her hips she knew that he was reassuring her.

"What about you? Ya think ya can fix it?"

"I'm sure I can think of something."

_I'm so glad that Goro understands English. I couldn't imagine even trying to say all this in Japanese._

"Good. But I trust ya, Nurse Majima."

"I'll be sure to take good care of you." Goro ran his hands up her dress and to her hips, stopping for a moment and running his hands up and down again. A grin came to his face, and he looked up at her, but Olivia could only look away in embarrassment.

"Oh-ho, I know ya will."

_At least not wearing any underwear got a good reaction out of him. That makes me glad._

Goro sat back on the bed a little bit and Olivia straddled him, reaching between them to hold him in place before she lowered herself onto him slowly, a small smile of victory reaching her lips when he moaned and tilted his head back. Okay, so she wasn't a total lost cause. If she brought up that worry, she knew he would think that she wasn't a lost cause at all, but she got worried that she wouldn't be good at this kind of thing. Once Olivia had taken him all in, a wave of pleasurable shivers ran down her spine. After her body had accommodated to him, she started to move. His hands roamed along her body. A shuddered breath left her when he kissed the top of her breast that was bouncing in time with her movements. As best as she could with shaking hands, she attempted to undo the buttons, but Goro ended up ripping open the costume and giving a hum or approval, rubbing the new skin he was given access to.

Olivia momentarily saw stars when a hard thrust of his met hers a loud pleasure coated moan leaving her. She wrapped an arm around his neck and grinded her hips against his to move him deeper inside.  
"Yer a dirty little nurse, ain't ya?" He managed to ask through his own heated breathing, answering his own question when another upward thrust was met with the same reaction. "Yeah ya are."

"I—"

"Ain't no reason ta hide it, Kitten." Goro said. He stared at her in momentary shock when she started to ride him faster. In the midst of her movements, he ended up undoing her bra and tossing it in the room. A large hand rested against the back of her neck, pulling her closer and kissing her with a passion that burned as hot as any fire. His forehead rested against hers when her hands ran along his chest. "The things ya fuckin' do ta me."

He took her hands and interlocked their fingers before guiding them to wrap around his neck. Olivia's eyes widened and her breathing became shallow and erratic once he grabbed her hips and drove into her. Her forehead fell against his shoulder and her eyes closed. Chains of moans came pouring from her lips. Sweat began to coat her skin.  
"Please don't stop." Olivia begged.

"Not a chance." Goro huffed a heated laugh against her skin.

Olivia's body clamped down and her back arched. Goro pulled her closer by her lower back and continued his movements even as she continued to moan and call out his name while her toes curled. His movements slowed, but she could feel how close he was. Even though her body was tired, she started her movements again.

"You—"

"I promised I'd take good care of you, remember?"

"Th-that you did." Goro groaned and leaned back on his hands. "Ride it out, Kitten."

Olivia smiled,  
"Yes sir. Anything for my patient."

With her body being so exhausted, it was hard for her legs to work as fast as she wanted, but with the combo of her hips and the hands that she ran along his chest he ended up following soon after, wrapping his arms around her and resting his head against her shoulder. Olivia smiled when he looked up at her with a tired eye and a sweat slick body. She leaned down and kissed him just as gentle as he'd always been with her and ran her fingers through his hair which was stuck to his face from sweat. Goro took one of her hands and placed his against his chest. His heart was beating wildly, and it only made her smile widen.

Laying in each other's arms after was one of the best parts in her opinion. She got to feel the love between them and how much they meant to each other. He had pulled her close and placed his lips against her shoulder, his eye closed.

"I'm sorry."

"Goro, it isn't your fault."

For the first time since she had healed, he had fully seen the scar that the burn given to her in the Hole had left. The rest of her injuries had healed, but the burn to her shoulder that Sato had put there had been so severe that it hadn't healed all the way. The skin that was there was softer and lighter, clearly scarred.

"But—"

"No. No 'but's." Olivia said and pet the back of his head. "It isn't your fault. Not at all."

"Does it hurt?" His whisper hurt her as did the cracking in it. Goro really blamed himself.

"Not at all." She watched him put his lips against it again. "I'm glad I have."

"Haw? Why?"

"Because if I had been told them where you and everyone else was being, I wouldn't be here with you. I wouldn't be having scar, but at the same time, I wouldn't be having you." She smiled.

"Dammit, yer fuckin' killin' me here, Princess." Goro sniffled and pulled her even closer. "I love ya."

"I love you too."


	6. The Red String: Forever

Olivia couldn't believe it. Absolutely _couldn't _believe it. Adding to the disbelief was anger. If what Ethan and Merc had said was true, Goro was in for a verbal lashing. She slammed the door open, getting looks from everyone as it closed just as hard. The poor door was almost knocked off its hinges. Some of the men that looked like they were about to greet her looked away while others stopped what they were doing and moved out of the way. Anger set on her face, all the men knew that she currently wouldn't be able to talk without yelling. She didn't want to take her anger out on the kind men around her. She looked around and saw Goro sitting and leaned over, his elbows on his knees with his chopsticks knocking against the side of something. His gaze was turned away from her and focused on the man next to him who was nodding, looking slightly worried.

"Yer serious?!" Goro yelled at the man.

"Y-Yes, sir. I'm sorry."

"If ya had fuckin' listened ta me in the first fuckin' place, this wouldn't have happened!"

"I tried—"

"Obviously ya didn't try hard enough! What the fuck were ya thinkin'?"

"I—"

"Lemme answer that for ya! Ya weren't thinkin'! Do I gotta smack some sense into yer fuckin' head?!"

Olivia saw the man look over Goro's shoulder, noticing her coming up to him. His eyes widened and he cleared his throat. It wasn't the first time that she had come here and terrified some of the men that were with Goro. From the look on his face, he expected another blow out.

"Hey, are ya listenin' ta me?" Goro asked, raising his hand to slam it against the man's head.

"Goro Majima!"

He finally turned and looked at her. That stupid smirk on his face when he looked her up and down.  
"Olivia Majima!" He exclaimed back.

"Don't 'Olivia Majima' me, Goro!" From the corner of her eyes, she noticed some of the men backing up from where they had been sitting with him. "What have you done?!"

Goro furrowed his brows and looked down at the now empty lunch box that she had made that morning and then looked back at her.  
"Um… I finished eatin'?"

"Not that!" Olivia exclaimed, becoming exasperated.

"Uh—"

"Check your cell."

Goro reached over into his back pocket and flipped open his cellphone, his brows raising chewing at what food was left in his mouth.  
"Oops." He cleared his throat and looked back at her.

"Yeah, 'oops'."

"So, what's up?"

"Well! I—" Olivia exhaled through her nose, her nostrils starting to flare. Not even looking away from her husband she continued to speak. "Ethan, you better get back over here or so help me God."

She couldn't say that she wore the pants in the relationship, because that's not what marriage was. It was 50/50; each giving just as much as they were receiving. Of course, there were times when one had to be slightly dominant than the other. However, it wasn't too much to upset the whole balance of the marriage. This was one of those times where she had a point to make and she would make it with no exceptions and minimal interruptions. It didn't matter that it was in front of everyone at work. Truthfully, they couldn't really tease him for it anyway.

"What happened?" Goro asked, setting his lunch box down and his face looking genuinely concerned as he sat up.

"Ethan got into a fight today."

"That right?"

"Yeah, it is. And he said that _you _said that it was okay to get into fights." Olivia said, noticing some of the men getting closer and leaning around curious as to what their rare fight was about.

Goro looked over at Ethan.  
"Did ya start it?"

"No."

"Did ya finish it?"

"Yes."

Olivia's jaw dropped when Goro put his hand up and Ethan high-fived it. He looked over at Olivia and cleared his throat and looked back at Ethan.  
"U-Uh, I mean. Ya shouldn't be gettin' inta fights, Ethan…"

"…"

"Did ya even ask him what happened?"

"N-No…" Olivia admitted.

"Don't ya think ya should've?"

"I wanted to come here and smack the shit out of you first." She said.

"Look, Olivia, I said that he couldn't _start _fights. But what's the issue with him finishin' 'em?" Goro turned and raised his brows. "What was the fight 'bout?"

"Some kid was making fun of us because Mom isn't Japanese." Ethan explained.

"… A group of them actually." Merc chimed in.

"Some of them called us 'halfies', others called us 'half-breeds'. They called Mom a _gaijin_ and pulled Hikari's hair." Ethan explained.

"So ya kicked the shit outta 'em?"

"Mm." Merc nodded.

"He helped, but the teacher's an idiot and couldn't tell us apart so I got all the blame." Ethan sighed.

"You didn't _tell _them that I was involved and wouldn't let me, so don't even try it." Merc said.

"Hmm." Goro said and slammed his hands down on his pants. "Welp, go on and play."

"You mean, we're not in trouble?" Merc asked.

"Nope. Now go on." Both looked at Olivia and she waved her hands with a sigh.

She rubbed her temples and looked around the construction site. All Goro's old Family members were here working on Kamurocho Hills. Being married for ten years she had seen and been through so much. Not in the same sense as what happened with Omi and Ragnarök. In fact, they'd actually had to apologize to the Omi leader since one of the Majima Family members ended up killing one of theirs. In response, Goro decided to disband the Family and return to civilian life. The men didn't leave and followed him to where he now owned a construction company.

One positive was that she was able to trust every single man here with the kids. All four of them. It was so peaceful to know that all these ex-yakuza would take care of and love her children. With how difficult their schedule was lately, it was hard to bring the kids to see the men at work. Another reason was that they would always end up giving them some sort of sweet that would end up winding up Yukiko. But they all loved the kids and would stop all work to spend time with them.

Ethan and Merc were identical twins. They had been expecting a girl so when Ethan was born, she had been at a loss on what to name the children. It was actually Goro's idea to name the boys Ethan and Merc. If they hadn't been able to be there in person, he wanted to make sure that they were a part of their lives in another way. They always enjoyed playing ball with a couple of the men on the site and were both amazing at baseball, just like their father. Another thing they had gotten from their father was their ink black hair. They both had her eyes though. Ethan was the more outgoing of the two while Merc liked to stay in the background with his sarcastic remarks. Standing next to Goro and Olivia, there was no denying the boys were theirs.

Over spending time with Naoya was Hikari...holding a gun. Hikari—their light in the darkness—looked just like her mother with brown hair and blue eyes. Just like Merc, she liked to stay in the background. The first time that Naoya had let her hold the gun he always kept on him, Olivia had almost had a heart attack. While she wasn't 100% sold on the idea, he did make sure that Hikari was always safe. By the time that she was born, Kazuma had already went to jail for murdering Sohei Dojima. The ten years he was gone was hard for both her and Goro, even if he hadn't admitted it. So when he was released, he was shocked that not only _one _kid he got to meet, but _two_. Olivia remembered when he just stared at Goro and he shrugged and said 'nighttime workouts with my Kitten is one of my favorite activities. Keeps me in shape, Kiryu-chan.' She had almost dropped dead.

Olivia heard a scream and almost bolted up, but relaxed when she saw that Yukiko was standing in front of Nishida—Goro's right hand man—with her hands up, wiggling her tiny fingers. He was Yukiko's favorite person other than her father. Stand her in front of all the Majima Family men and she would run to Nishida every time. Their little snow child had been a surprise, but she was an amazing surprise. One of the unfortunate things about Yukiko's birth was the year. Chairman Sera had been murdered shortly after and she wouldn't remember him no matter what. Olivia's grandparents had died before she was born so she never got to meet them. But there was no shortage of love with the Family men. She smiled when Nishida picked her up and held her watching her as she rocked back and forth reciting her ABCs. Yukiko's pregnancy had been difficult as well as unexpected and it showed. It looked like her genetics had a hard time deciding who to pick from. The little girl had mixed brown and black hair; naturally. One of her eyes was the blue of her mother while the other was the brown of her father.

"Sorry." Olivia said, looking over at Goro who had taken his hard hat off and was shaking his hair back into place.

"'bout what?"

"I shouldn't have come in here just ready to yell at you."

"Eh. Doesn't bother me any. Yer cute when yer mad." Goro smiled and pet her hair. "I get why ya woulda been upset though."

"I feel bad that the kids are getting bullied because of me being from America." Olivia's smile was sad.

"Kids are assholes. They're gonna pick on any kid 'bout anythin'. Doesn't matter what. They'll find somethin'." Goro shrugged.

"Yeah, but—"

"'sides. The kids we got are special, y'know? They teach English in school, but how many of them kids can go in there and know both languages fluently?" Goro said.

"Not many."

Over the ten years that she's been married to Goro the other times that she's spent in Japan; both of them became fluent in both Japanese _and _English with a lot of hard work. This skill was passed onto her kids and each of them would end up being able to speak both languages.

"That's right. 'sides, they're pretty cool kids."

Olivia laughed and nodded.  
"Yeah, they are."

"They got the Majima Family wrapped around their little fingers. They're good at wigglin' their way inta people's hearts. Damn kids. They must get that from their mom; gettin' in good with a yakuza Family."

"_Ex_-yakuza."

"Ah, right. Keep forgettin'." Goro muttered.

"Hey, don't keep hitting Nishida over the head."

"Why? He's got a hat on."

"Because, what if he gets really hurt? Yukiko will be devastated." Olivia raised her brows.

"…" They looked over at the little girl who was trotting around, her little laughs interrupted each time her foot hit the ground. Both of them stood when she fell to the ground.

"Oops! Be careful!" Yukiko said and got up and continued to run, Nishida following her.

Olivia sighed and plopped back down on the large pile of wood they were sitting on.  
"Shoulda known she wasn't gonna freak out. Kid's made of steel, I'm tellin' ya. Anyway, how am I s'posed ta knock sense inta Nishida if I don't smack him around?"

"Talk to him?" She blinked as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"… Nah."

"Go—"

"Fine, fine. I won't hit him as _hard_. Don't want his hearin' ta go. That'll just make things worse."

"Oh my God. Fine. That's the best I'm going to get, isn't it?"

"Mhm."

"Daddy!" Yukiko came running up to them with her cup in her hand and thrust it out to Goro. Olivia smiled when he took the cup and stood up with a grunt and a mutter of 'damn I'm gettin' old'. He went over to the cooler they always had and reached inside and grabbed onto a juice and put some in and filled the rest with water before putting the top on and handing it back to Yukiko. "You're welcome!"

"Close enough." Goro said and watched her run away before plopping back down on the wood. "Stop starin' at me, Kitten."

"I'm not. I'm just looking."

"For a long time. That's starin'." He cleared his throat and watched the other kids.

"I just didn't think you'd carry juice with you."

"Haw? Why not? What am I s'posed ta do if ya drop by and my kid gets thirsty? Tell her 'yer shit outta luck, kid'? Nah. Gotta keep _somethin' _around."

"But her favorite juice?"

"Shuddup. Ain't no one askin' ya."

"Okay, okay." Olivia said and turned back to the kids.

"Hey, how's yer mom?"

"Huh?"

"Ya ain't heard from her in a couple months."

"Oh, her and Kashiwagi-san, uh—D-Dad… are still on that trip."

"It _is _pretty strange ta call him 'Dad' I bet."

"Yeah, just a bit." Olivia chuckled. "I have to admit though. I'm glad that they're together. They both look a lot happier. Well, as happy as Kashiwagi-san can show. Um, dammit. Uh, Dad."

She smiled and watched Ethan and Merc go over to Ako and started batting small balls against the large containers that held the supplies for Kamurocho Hills. Other than their father, Ako was the best person to learn baseball from. Her swing was out of this world. Made sense though since she beat the shit out of people with one. Despite Ako being different, she was glad that she was accepted by _everyone, _all the Majima Family men, the others that were recruited, and her kids. Then again, her kids had been taught to never judge anyone by appearances. If that was something she had done, they wouldn't be here.

Hikari and Naoya were taking turns holding the gun. Olivia hoped that she would never need to _use _the gun, but the world was a dangerous place. Just because they had moved to Kamurocho and had almost all her friends and family here meant nothing if someone really wanted to attack them. She had learned that over ten years ago. If Hikari had to learn from anyone, Olivia was glad that it was someone that she could trust here at the site.

"Have you talked to Kazuma lately?" Olivia asked.

"Mm-mm. Ain't had the time Kitten." Goro shrugged. "Him and his girl seem ta be doin' good though last I heard. The kid is doin' pretty good too, like I said, last I heard."

"That's good. Haruka definitely needs a dad figure, and I'm sure Kazuma can do that. Even if he's worried that he's not going to be good at it. I'm sure he can." Olivia said. "Oh! I dropped by Serena. Reina's really starting to show. I'm really excited to meet the baby."

"Ya just like kids, dontcha?" Goro said.

"M-Maybe a bit. Only when they're my friend's kids though. Or my own, obviously."

"Thanks."

"Hm? For what?"

"Just bein' there. Ya know? Bein' just the way ya are."

"You're so stupid." Olivia nudged him. "Of course, I'm going to be here for you. I already said that during our wedding. 'Forever', remember?"

Goro huffed and nodded.  
"Ya did say that, didn't ya?"

"Mhm." Olivia smiled. "Hey, um… Do you know how to build all this?"

"Haw? Whatcha talkin' 'bout?"

"Kamurocho Hills. Do you know how to build buildings?"

"Nope! Not a clue!"

Olivia's eyes widened.  
"W-What?! You don't?! People are going to be living here!"

"Don't worry 'bout it. That's what videos and books are for."

"You're serious?"

"'course I am. Why would I know how ta do this just randomly? Ain't had ta do anythin' but stab people for a while. Puttin' me in civilian life as a contractor? How am I s'posed ta know that?"

"Oh my God." Olivia couldn't help it and started laughing. "You're unbelievable."

"Haw? What's so funny? I'm learnin'."

"I don't think this qualifies as 'on the job training'."

"Sure it does!" Goro argued. "'sides. Would ya have me any other way?"

"I—"

"Wait! No, ya can't take it back whatcha said before. Ya said 'forever', remember?"

Olivia smiled and shook her head.  
"You're right. I wouldn't have you any other way."

"I hope the people feel the same if their floors fall through…" Goro muttered, grabbing onto Olivia's hand. "But, ya believe in me, right?"

"Of course. Always have, always will."

"Forever?" Goro asked, running his fingers through her hair.

"Forever."


End file.
